Last Monday evening, after months of excitement and anticipation, 11 Yeshiva University High School for Boys (MTA) tenth graders departed to Eretz Yisrael as part of a six week exchange program with Yeshivat Makor Chaim. Prior to the trip, all the boys gathered into Head of School Rabbi Joshua Kahn’s office on Sunday morning, where they heard parting messages from Rabbi Kahn, Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael Taubes, and two Makor Chaim alumni, who gave the eager students final words regarding how to maximize these next few life-changing weeks. On Tuesday morning, the group finally arrived at Ben Gurion Airport where they were met by their madrichim (both former participants in the program), Yehuda Taragin and Shlomo Mirsky (‘11), as well as several Makor Chaim students. They then made their way to their first stop, the Kotel. Although the boys were groggy and jet-lagged, their physical exhaustion was no match for their anticipation and earnestness to daven at the Kotel and walk the stone roads of Yerushalayim. Later that evening, the boys drove to Yeshivat Makor Chaim in Kfar Etzion, where they were greeted by their roommates. They then rested up for their upcoming days of learning Torah, meeting new friends and traveling around Eretz Yisrael.